Volatility is picking up and the E-mini S&P has seen wide ranges in the past week. Coming into this morning, the S&P was down 7.00, and then on the New York open, stocks shot up on a wire coming across after news that USTR is removing items off the tariff list with China. All we know is that there was a phone call between the U.S. and China and markets took that as a positive. S&P is up 53, Dow futures are up 400 and the Nasdaq is up 190. Whether this rally is sustainable is yet to be seen, but the market sure likes the news.  

Along with the massive rise in stocks today, we are seeing the dollar rallying especially against the yen, but the most notable move has been the rise in yields with the 30-year bond down 19-ticks. Another big mover this morning is gold which was $60 off the high made overnight. Moving forward, we have seen this pattern before where there are hints of the U.S. and China coming together and trying to finalize a deal, only to fade in the wind as markets simply don’t believe it. As talks resume, traders should be on guard for any tweets, verbiage, or any other comments that come across the tape. The markets seem to ignore data and only focus on the current trade war. The market still needs to contend with unrest in Hong Kong as they were forced to close their airport this morning.